In a scathing ruling, a federal three-judge panel has rejected Governor Jerry Brown’s request that it lift a court order placing a cap on California’s prison population.

The U.S. Supreme Court has told the state it must reduce its
prison population to 137 percent of design capacity. The
state got most of the way there. And in January, Governor
Brown filed a motion asking the court to essentially say, that's
good enough. The answer from the court is a very clear
"no."

The judges write that even though Governor Brown may believe
that prison overcrowding is no longer a problem in the delivery of
timely and effective health services for inmates, that's no excuse
for his failure to comply with the orders of the court.

The panel gives the state 21 days to submit a plan to reach the
cap - including, potentially, identifying prisoners for early
release. And the judges threaten the state and governor with
contempt of court if they don't.

The ruling ends: "Defendants will not be allowed to continue to
violate the requirements of the Constitution of the United
States."